| Hans Kosterlitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 April 1903 Berlin |
| Died | 26 October 1996 |
| Citizenship | Germany, Great Britain |
| Nationality | British, German (before 1933) |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | University of Aberdeen |
| Alma mater | Humboldt University of Berlin |
| Known for | Endorphins |
| Notable awards | Harvey Prize (1981) |
Hans Walter Kosterlitz (27 April 1903 – 26 October 1996) was a German-born British biologist, who graduated Doctor of Medicine (Dr. med) in Berlin. He settled in Scotland and took a Doctor of Science (DSc) at the University of Aberdeen where he was, for many years, Reader in Physiology.
Kosterlitz is best known for his work on endorphins. He performed a famous experiment that he envisioned in a dream while sleeping. He stimulated a strip of guinea pig intestine electrically and was able to record the contractions with a polygraph. He then found that if you added opiates to the solution, the intestine would not contract. Opiates inhibit intestinal contraction. Those contractions were later found to resume in the presence of both opiates and an antagonist such as naloxone. Later, endogenous endorphins were discovered by applying tissue (mouse brain cell homegenate) to the apparatus. This caused the contractions to cease. The degree to which an opiate agonist causes contractions in the guinea pig ileum is highly correlated to its potency.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1978.
The University of Aberdeen officially opens its new Kosterlitz Centre on the 16th September 2010 in memory of Professor Hans Kosterlitz, who joined the University in 1933.